NCAA.com | November 30, 2014

FBS Top 25

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Dalvin Cook ran for a career-high 144 yards and No. 3 Florida State survived Jameis Winston's struggles to beat Florida 24-19 on Saturday night in Will Muschamp's final game as the Gators' coach.

The defending national champion Seminoles have won 28 games in a row, and completed consecutive undefeated regular seasons for the first time in school history. Florida State is the 16th team to accomplish the feat since 1950.

The Seminoles (12-0) will face Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Dec. 6.

Winston threw a career-high four interceptions, including three in the first quarter. He finished 12 of 24 for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Nick O'Leary had two second-quarter touchdown catches to give Florida State a 21-9 lead.

The Gators (6-5) jumped out to a 9-0, but the offense struggled. Treon Harris threw for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Florida's Austin Harder missed two second-half field goals that would have given the Gators the lead.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Amari Cooper tied his own school record with 224 yards receiving and caught three touchdown passes in No. 1 Alabama's 55-44 comeback victory against No. 15 Auburn on Saturday night in the highest-scoring Iron Bowl.

Quarterback Blake Sims and the Crimson Tide (11-1, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) turned to the Heisman Trophy candidate for touchdowns of 39 and 75 yards in the third quarter.

Alabama had already clinched a spot in the SEC championship game against No. 17 Missouri but the top team in the College Football Playoff rankings scored 28 consecutive points heading into the final seconds.

Auburn (8-4, 4-4) surged ahead 36-27 before losing its third consecutive SEC game in a season that once also carried playoff hopes.

Sims passed for 312 yards and four touchdowns but was also intercepted three times. Auburn's Nick Marshall had 456 yards passing, 206 to Sammie Coates.

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Marcus Mariota threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 39 yards and two more scores to lead second-ranked Oregon to a 47-19 victory against Oregon State in the 118th Civil War game Saturday night.

Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) will face Arizona in the Pac-12 championship game Friday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Freshman Royce Freeman ran for 135 yards and also caught one of Mariota's touchdown passes. Fellow freshman Charles Nelson caught two passes -- both touchdowns -- for 56 yards, and Byron Marshall had six catches for 131 yards and a score.

It was Oregon's seventh consecutive win overall and seventh in the series against the rival Beavers (5-7, 2-7), who lost six of their past seven games and failed to become bowl eligible.

AUSTIN, Texas -- TCU took the field on Thanksgiving night determined to send a message to the rest of college football.

The sixth-ranked Horned Frogs delivered one with a 48-10 romp against Texas, and the tens of thousands of its fans who stuck around to the end will be happy to keep chanting "T-C-U!" to anyone who may have missed it.

Are you listening, College Football Playoff committee?

Trevone Boykin passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and TCU's defense dominated the Longhorns and quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, sending Texas to one of the worst home losses in program history.

The win kept the Horned Frogs (10-1, 7-1) in the hunt for their first Big 12 title. The question is whether it was impressive enough to impact the playoff standings, where they sit at No. 5, one spot out of contention for a national championship.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Bryce Petty threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns before getting knocked out of the game with a concussion and playoff hopeful Baylor held on for a 48-46 victory against Texas Tech on Saturday.

Shock Linwood ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns for the fifth-ranked Bears (10-1, 7-1 Big 12), who are guaranteed at least a share of their second consecutive conference title if they win at home against No. 11 Kansas State next Saturday.

The Bears are also hoping for a much bigger prize, but this close game likely won't help in that quest. They were already two playoff ranking spots behind Big 12 co-leader TCU, which is coming off an impressive 48-10 Thanksgiving night romp at Texas.

Patrick Mahomes set a Big 12 freshman record with his 593 yards passing that included six touchdowns, the last with 1:42 left before getting sacked on a two-point try.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Kevin Hogan passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and Stanford crushed No. 8 UCLA's hopes for the Pac-12 South title and a College Football Playoff spot with a 31-10 victory Friday.

Devon Cajuste and Michael Rector caught scoring passes for the Cardinal (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) as the two-time defending Pac-12 champions salvaged satisfaction from a down season by trouncing the Bruins (9-3, 6-3) for the seventh consecutive time.

With a dynamite 16-for-19 performance by Hogan and two rushing TDs from Remound Wright, Stanford snatched the South title away from UCLA, which needed a victory to advance to the conference title game. Instead, the Bruins flopped in another big game and Stanford handed the division crown to Arizona, a 42-35 winner against Arizona State on Friday.

Brett Hundley passed for 146 yards in likely his final home game for the Bruins, losing a matchup with Hogan for the fourth time in three years.

ATHENS, Ga. -- Harrison Butker kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation Saturday, and D.J. White picked off a pass in overtime to preserve No. 16 Georgia Tech's 30-24 victory against No. 9 Georgia in a game filled with bizarre plays.

Georgia Tech (10-2) trailed 24-21 after Hutson Mason threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Mitchell on fourth down with 18 seconds left. But the Yellow Jackets wound up with good field position after a squib kickoff, Justin Thomas scrambled 21 yards into field goal range, and Butker's kick barely cleared the crossbar.

Zach Laskey put Georgia Tech ahead with his third touchdown run of the game in overtime, but Butker's extra point was blocked. The Bulldogs (9-3) had a chance to win it as they faced second-and-goal at the 9.

Georgia fumbled twice at the Georgia Tech 1, ruining almost certain touchdown drives, but then snatched the ball away at its own 1 when it looked like the Yellow Jackets were about to take it in. Damian Swann took that one 99 yards the other way for a touchdown, the longest fumble return in Georgia history.

Each team blocked a field goal, and Georgia pulled off a fake field goal that kicker Marshall Morgan nearly took to the end zone. Georgia Tech looked to be in position to clinch the victory after Georgia failed to field a pooch kickoff, allowing the Yellow Jackets to recover deep in Bulldogs territory with just over 4 minutes remaining.

But Thomas made another huge mistake, losing control of the ball as he attempted to pump fake on a scramble.

All was forgiven when Georgia Tech held on for its first win the series known as "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" since 2008, and only the second in the past 14 meetings.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- R.J. Shelton returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and Jeremy Langford ran for 118 yards and two scores to help No. 10 Michigan beat Penn State 34-10 on Saturday night.

The Spartans (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) won their third consecutive game and hit the double-digit win mark for the fourth time in the past five seasons under coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans have four of their six 10-plus win seasons in school history under Dantonio.

Shelton doused the enthusiasm of the emotional senior day festivities at Beaver Stadium when he used all of 14 seconds to dart through defenders for the score.

From there, the Spartans never really dazzled against the Nittany Lions (6-6, 2-6). Connor Cook threw a 10-yard TD pass and Langford chipped in with a 3-yard score in the third quarter to methodically put it away.

Under first-year coach James Franklin, the Nittany Lions finished 2-6 after a 4-0 start.

Michael Geiger kicked field goals of 36 and 39 yards in the first quarter to give Michigan State a 13-0 lead.

Sam Ficken set a Penn State single-season record with 23 field goals with his 41-yarder late in the half that made it 13-3.

The Spartans kept up the pressure against Hackenberg in the third, forcing a fumble off a sack. Michigan State recovered at Penn State's 18 and needed only four plays for Cook, who has guided the Spartans to three single-season offensive records for most points, most offensive TDs and most yards in a season, to hit Tony Lippett for a 10-yard TD and a 27-3 lead.

Langford put the finishing touches on the blowout with a 6-yard TD run that made it 34-10 and pushed him over the 100-yard rushing mark.

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Jake Waters threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to record-setting wide receiver Tyler Lockett, and No. 12 Kansas State routed Kansas 51-13 on Saturday to move into a tie atop the Big 12 standings.

Lockett caught nine passes for 119 yards, passing his father Kevin Lockett for the school record in career catches and matching his mark for touchdown receptions. Lockett has 222 catches and 26 TD grabs heading into next week's showdown at fifth-ranked Baylor.

Kansas State (9-2) moved into a tie with TCU and Baylor at 7-1 in the conference.

Curry Sexton added nine catches for 141 yards and a score, and Waters and Charles Jones each had touchdown runs as the Wildcats beat the Jayhawks (3-9, 1-8) for the sixth straight time.

Michael Cummings threw for 139 yards and two scores for the Jayhawks, but he was also picked off twice — once on a tipped pass, once on a ball kicked into the air by his intended target.

Melvin Gordon ran for 151 yards and accounted for two scores, and the 14th-ranked Badgers rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to beat No. 18 Minnesota 34-24 on Saturday night to earn a trip to the conference championship game.

Joel Stave threw for 215 yards, including 160 to receiver Alex Erickson. Stave's 17-yard touchdown pass to Robert Wheelwright with 4:41 left in the game gave the Badgers (10-2, 7-1) a 10-point lead, and Wisconsin's defense held from there.

The Badgers will play Ohio State next week for the league title after claiming the West Division crown.

It was not easy. Physical Minnesota (8-4, 5-3) let a 17-3 lead early in the second quarter slip away. David Cobb ran for 118 yards on 25 carries, including a 40-yard score.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Marcus Murphy scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard run with 4:38 remaining and Markus Golden recovered a fumble to seal No. 17 Missouri's 21-14 victory Friday against Arkansas and send the Tigers to the SEC championship game for the second consecutive season.

Missouri (10-2, 7-1) tied it at 14 early in the fourth quarter with a 98-yard drive capped by Jimmie Hunt's 4-yard TD reception and a reverse pass by receiver Bud Sasser to Darius White for the 2-point conversion.

Arkansas (6-6, 2-6) was driving for the tie when Kentrell Brothers stripped Alex Collins and Golden recovered with 2:13 to go at the Missouri 35 to thwart Arkansas' bid to tie it.

The Razorbacks had won two in a row, both shutouts, against ranked teams.

The Tigers (9-3) hadn't beaten the Gamecocks (6-6) since 2008, an unprecedented run of failure that overshadowed their 32-8 record the past three seasons. This time, Clemson showed off a perked up offense bolstered by the return of freshman starter Deshaun Watson at quarterback.

Watson threw two inside flip passes that Scott turned into touchdowns of 53 and 70 yards. The second one gave the Tigers a 28-10 lead that South Carolina couldn't overcome.

Watson finished 14 of 19 for 269 yards and two rushing TDs in first significant action since defeating North Carolina State on Oct. 4.

No lead was safe in a back-and-forth game between rivals that got physical before kickoff. Louisville coach Bobby Petrino grabbed the jacket of Wildcats assistant Daniel Berezowitz during one pregame scuffle.

The game was equally as charged. There were four fourth-quarter lead changes alone. The Cardinals (9-3) ultimately got the last word by driving 81 yards for the game-winning score that capped their fourth and final comeback against the Wildcats (5-7).

Kentucky's last possession ended with Holliman picking off Patrick Towles and returning it 65 yards to the 2 before Louisville ran out the clock and sparked a celebration.

BOISE, Idaho -- Jay Ajayi ran for a career-high 229 yards and five touchdowns, and Boise State rolled past Utah State and secured a spot in the Mountain West title game.

The Broncos (10-2, 7-1), who kept alive their hopes of playing in a New Year's Day bowl game, won their 13th consecutive home game. They will host Fresno State for the conference championship on Saturday.

Utah State (9-4, 6-2) dropped its first November road game since 2009 and failed to return to the conference title game after representing the Mountain Division last year.

With the division title on the line in a game that boasted the Mountain West's top offense in Boise State and top defense in Utah State, the matchup was decisively one-sided.

Boise State racked up 498 total yards and scored touchdowns on its first five possessions against the nation's fifth-best scoring defense.

Ajayi, who eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the seventh consecutive game, ran for the most yards of any single runner this season against the Aggies' 17th-ranked run defense.

Boise State's Grant Hedrick turned in an 18-of-24 passing performance for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Brandon Doughty threw a Conference USA-record eight touchdown passes, the last in overtime to Jared Dangerfield followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Willie McNeal that lifted Western Kentucky past No. 19 Marshall 67-66 on Friday.

Marshall's Rakeem Cato had seven touchdown passes but threw four interceptions as the teams combined for 1,446 yards of offense.

Doughty broke the previous conference record of six TD passes set on eight occasions.

Western Kentucky (7-5, 4-4) foiled Marshall's bid for the fourth perfect season in school history. The teams tied the Bowl Subdivision record for the most combined points scored in a game involving a ranked team, set when West Virginia beat Baylor 70-63 in 2012. It was the highest-scoring game in Conference USA history, eclipsing East Carolina's 65-59 win against Marshall in double overtime in 2012.

Marshall (11-1, 7-1) saw its 13-game home winning streak snapped and likely lost its chance to earn a place in the New Year's bowls. The College Football Playoff committee will pick one team from outside the five major conferences for one guaranteed spot. Marshall was 24th in the CFP this week, one place behind Boise State, which plays Utah State on Saturday.

Marshall already has qualified for next week's conference championship and will meet the winner of Saturday's game between Rice and Louisiana Tech.

BOULDER, Colo. -- Dominique Hatfield returned a fourth-quarter interception 20 yards for a touchdown and Utah benefited from a pair of key replay reversals as the Utes beat Colorado 38-34 Saturday, sending the Buffaloes to their season-ending eighth consecutive loss.

Travis Wilson threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, helping Utah (8-4, 5-4 Pac-12) finish with a winning conference record and rebound from last week's rout by Arizona. Devontae Booker had 25 carries for 95 yards, including a touchdown and a key 11-yard gain in the late going to help run out the clock.

Sefo Liufau completed 20 of 31 passes for 317 yards and a touchdown but the game turned on his late interception. Colorado (2-10, 0-9) finished winless in league play for the first time since 1915 when the Buffaloes finished 0-5 in the Rocky Mountain Conference.